Police make arrests after incident involving stolen cars and machete

By Rylan Boggs

Blue Mountain Eagle

Published on November 29, 2016 1:16PM

A machete incident in Ritter ended with multiple arrests Monday.

Oregon State Police arrested Raymond T. Dual, 29, of Hermiston for unlawful use of a motor vehicle, menacing and reckless driving. Cody J. Winn, 38, of Ritter was arrested for failure to register as a sex offender and two counts of felon in possession of a weapon.

Late Sunday night, Grant County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Oregon State Police officers were dispatched to a 911 call in Ritter, according to OSP Sgt. Tom Hutchison. Dual had called 911 and reported Winn had assaulted him with a machete and rifle butt and said he had barricaded himself inside a room in Winn’s home in Ritter.

Law enforcement secured the building and helped Dual escape out a window. Dual was then taken to a hospital and interviewed by law enforcement. It became apparent that Dual had not been initially truthful, Hutchison said. Dual might have been drunk, crashed a car stolen from the Hermiston/Tri Cities area and walked to Winn’s residence where he had been staying, Hutchison said.

Upon returning to the residence, Hutchison said, Dual menaced Winn, his wife and three children with a machete. He was disarmed and locked himself in the room where he was found, according to Hutchison.

”I don’t believe he was assaulted,” Hutchison said. “Those injuries were sustained in a DUI crash.”

Another vehicle stolen from the same area was found at the scene, and Winn, a felon, was found to be in possession of a 20-gauge shotgun and .22-caliber rifle as well as the machete.

Winn’s wife was detained and released with no charges filed.

Hutchison said representatives from the Department of Human Services arrived to investigate the living conditions in the family’s home and removed the three children aged 3, 6 and 8.